Topic: Poltergeist

Re: Poltergeist

I love this film but I agree it could benefit from getting trimmed a teeny bit. The whole scene of bespectacled dude ripping his face off seems out of place and the film would be just as good without it. In fact, cut that scene out and there will be absolutely zero change. He leaves after it but the line 'Marty won't be coming back' is said after he sees the ghosts with everyone else, so the face ripping scene is pointless, he could just as easily flee after seeing the spooks. It would also change the UK rating from 15 to a 12 (the kids in peril bits would stop it from being a PG, I'm guessing).

Re: Poltergeist

Love this film, definitely one of, if not my favourite scary movie.

I don't really think any "horror" movie released after this one is quite as successful in combining all aspects of cinema into a very natural feeling, scary, and intimate package.Most scary movies of recent are just dull, clichéd and monotone. Poltergeist has a great contrast between the scary parts and the intimate drama, which makes it all the more effective when they snap back and forth. I would personally definitely not trim the film in any way.

A recent scary movie I really liked was "Insidious". Yet, even that immediately fails to generate this contrast by having creepy violin score over an ominous title card, immediately telling you in no uncertain terms what the film is going to be.

"They don't make them like they used to" is my main feeling with Poltergeist.

Plus all the effects are absolutely gorgeous here. The optical light effects are stunning and any modern CG would look completely different from it. The practical puppet effects are beautiful aswell.

Re: Poltergeist

Insidious is okay, but it's incredibly derivative of Poltergeist. It's directed by James Wan, the same guy who made the first Saw movie. It's funny how he's single-handedly changed the direction of horror cinema twice now. His film kicked off the torture porn trend, and Insidious started a wave of low-budget possession/haunting films. If you want a really good horror film from him, check out The Conjuring from this summer. If Insidious is him doing 80s horror, The Conjuring is him doing 70s horror. It's a lot of fun, and one of the smartest, most restrained horror movies I've seen in years.